Under the Warring Skies
by gbuilder
Summary: An 08th MS Team one-off, semi-AU. Michel is confused about where he wants to go in life now that war has ruined his chances of returning to life as it once was. Perhaps Kiki has something to say about that.


A/N: A little fluff I did up in about an hour while I was bored, writing the new fanfic. The new one will replace the old one, as the old had many plot and timeline gaps, as well as many inconsistencies with the original U.C. timeline. The upcoming new fanfic with be AU, with a slightly altered U.C. timeline.

I expect to have the first chapter of that up by the third or fourth week of the month. I know it has been about a year, and I deleted the old fic already, so please be patient! I'm sorry it took so long, but senior year in HS really got hectic and I had to stop for a while. I am just finding free time now as a college freshman!

* * *

Michel and Kiki: Side Story

It was late at night. Too late for a properly trained soldier to be up, and way past the bed times of kids across the continent. But here he sat, staring at the wall unblinkingly and bored, mulling the thoughts over and over in his head. Michele just could not forget about them.

The team had been stationed in the guerrilla village for about a week now, and they had yet to pick up any enemy activity. In fact, not even friendly activity was picked up in their search area. It seemed like they were left to defend the area with nothing but hand-held weapons, and not many at that. It was a crisp, cool night in the jungle. Rather odd weather for the environment, but not uncommon, since it was El Nino season. Michel lay on his cot, deep in thought. For some reason, tonight, his mind had decided to wander over to the thought of B.B.

Again.

'Why am I thinking about her now? Of all times... Jeez, it's been months since I got that letter. She told me straight out that she had gotten married. She even had the gaulle to send me her wedding photo. If she didn't think the words would get her point across. Why did I even end up hanging onto that photo for as long as I did?' Michel ruffled his hair in a small show of exasperation. 'ARGH! This is really bugging me!'

The young soldier sighed, letting his hands drop to his sides limply in a sign of defeat. He was trying his best to get over B.B. He knew he should. The relationship was a bit rocky when he left for the war, and it just went downhill from there. No matter how much he told himself that he loved her, his heart told him that they were quickly drifting apart.

'I should have listened to my heart a long time ago…'

Michel's thoughts were interrupted by a loud snore from Eledore, in the cot next to him. Michel turned and looked at his comrade, Eledore's long blonde hair slung back in a ponytail over his shoulder.

Over the approximate year that he had gotten to know Eledore, Michel had grown to have a grudging respect for the man. He was eccentric, yes, and that sometimes made him annoying. But he was smart where it counted in battle, and Michel could not deny how instrumental Eledore had been in keeping the team alive. He was the best SONAR operator in the battalion.

"Damn, I can't sleep," Michel whispered to himself. He pulled a pair of pants out of his bag at the foot of his cot, along with a pair of socks, and dressed himself quietly. Getting up and carefully creeping along the floor, trying to avoid the inadvertent squeaks that sometimes came from it, he grabbed his coat before walking out of the door silently.

It was cool outside as Michel made his way toward the outskirts of the village, the light breeze whipping up his brown-red hair a little. The quarter-moon shining through the few lingering clouds in the sky, bathed the earth in an eerie white light that cast foreboding shadows everywhere. He walked by the darkened huts, their inhabitants fast asleep.

"What a way to spend the night" Michel lamented, as he kicked a small stone in his path. He looked up at the stars in the sky. "My home... I haven't been there in over a year." He smirked darkly. "Heh, like there is anything waiting up there for me now anyway."

Side 2 was his home. He was raised there by his loving mother and father. He thought back then, that he would live out the rest of his life in the space colonies. Never, did he think that he would be here, right now, on earth, fighting the Principality of Zeon. In fact, he would never be here now if it weren't for the Zeon themselves. Nearly all of his home and family had been wiped out when the Zeon attacked Side 2 during the One Week Battle, using poison gas and nuclear weapons.

He shivered at the thought. When the Zeon had attacked, he and B.B. Had been on their way to dinner, when they heard an explosion in the colony. It was followed by a sudden feeling of de-pressurization that still left a deep sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. And in a space colony, that could mean one of two things, none of which were good. Thinking back on that day still gave him chills.

_ FLASHBACK_

Michel and B.B. were walking along the river on their way to dinner. B.B. Had insisted on taking the river route, though it would take them longer to get there. Not opposed to spending more time with her, Michel had agreed.

"Thank you for taking me out today, Michel. I've missed you lately. Why haven't you been around much?" B.B. Looked at him intently, waiting for him to answer. Michel looked over at B.B. And smiled. She looked so cute when she did that. But she seemed to be doing it less often nowadays.

"I'm sorry. Mom has kept me busy lately with work around the house. It's not easy running a store. I've just been so swamped lately that I'd be tired after a day of work. That's why I'm taking you out tonight, to say sorry for not spending more time with you. Will you forgive me?"

A thoughtful look came to B.B.'s face, as she raised a finger to her chin. She looked away slightly, feigning deep thought. "Hmmmm. I don't know..." Michel was practically sweating up an ocean waiting for her answer. "Well, I guess I could." She smiled and looked back at him. "But you have to treat me to ice cream after dinner!" She said, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. Michel laughed at her antics and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him.

"You got it!" He exclaimed, as they continued walking toward the restaurant. Michel looked to B.B, watching as she looked ahead with a small smile on her face. He leaned over, intent on placing a kiss on her forehead. She always hated when he did that, because it embarrassed her. For what reason it embarrassed her, Michel could never find out. But he loved to torment her. He leaned toward her, almost to his goal.

B.B. Noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and begun to turn her head to see what it was. This caused Michel to miss his goal and kiss her cheek. Realizing that he had missed his intended target, Michel blushed lightly and pulled away. B.B. giggled and looked scoldingly at Michel.

"Ya know, if you wanted to kiss me, all you had to do was ask..." B.B. Moved her head toward Michel's slowly. Michel responded in kind, closing his eyes and moving in for the kill. Their faces came closer and closer... damn it, he was so close. Right before they kissed, the sound of an explosion broke the two apart. They swung their heads quickly to look down the colony interior, where they saw nothing.

"What was..." B.B. Began. But the wind was sucked out of her in the next second, as they found the air around them beginning to depressurize. The air was starting to become thin, and hard to breath with. And a second later, the air around them picked up speed, rushing over them and down the colony interior. Sirens began blaring, throwing in their screech along with the rushing wind.

"The colony must have a huge breach!!" Michel yelled over the roar of the emergency siren. He began looking wildly around, trying to find a sigh directing them to emergency shelters. He began running as fast as he could back the way they had come from, pulling BB along with him. By now, other people that had been in the park at the time had joined them, running for shelter from whatever terror had decided to strike at that time.

'It's definitely a breach, but how...?!' Michel's thoughts were painfully interrupted when a small ball that had been picked up by the wind hit him painfully in the head. He yelled out slightly in pain, struggling to keep his eyes open for one of the emergency signs.

"Michele!" BB's scream brought his attention to round on her, noting she was looking around frantically as he had been. "What's going on?!" Michele looked back up and away from BB in time to spot one of the signs, and a pair of small kids running for the heavy metal doorway set into the side of a small mound of earth.

"Wait up!" Michele called out, stopping in time the door from closing. A colony security officer poked his head out, looking around for the person who had called out, almost getting barreled over by the two kids as they rushed inside. Michele and BB followed quickly, Michele turning around and helping the security officer closed and bolt the heavy steel door.

He only got a small glimpse of the colony interior before the heavy security door closed, but what he saw sent terror up his spine.

A hole the size of one of the colony's booster engines was marred into the shell of the colony itself. Weird looking, humanoid machines were pouring themselves into the colony interior. He saw one of the machines fire a missile, but did not see it hit anything before the door closed.

"Hey, you! Grab your girlfriend and come on! You have to get to an escape shuttle!" Michel turned toward the voice and found the colony security officer calling them. Michel grabbed B.B.'s hand and began dragging her after the security guard. Along the way, many other people joined them from adjoining tunnels; most of them scared other curious. Michel looked back at B.B. And saw that she was also scared, trying to keep up with Michel. "Come on, B.B., only a bit farther to the escape shuttles!" Michel urged B.B. Onwards as he led her thought the gauntlet of people, down two wide flights of stairs, and into a large hallway, with many doors set into one side of the walls.

It was a minute before Michel saw a Federation soldier, directing people into a line of escape shuttles at the other end. To prevent being separated, Michel drew B.B. To him. He could feel her trembling, and quickly muttered something he hoped would help calm her, into her ear. He and B.B. followed a tall man and a hysterical mother carrying a child into a shuttle. Behind him, he could hear the Federation soldier giving orders for people to strap themselves in as quickly as possible. He found a pair of open seats and quickly led BB over to them, strapping her in first before doing the same for himself.

B.B. instantly latched herself onto him, still trembling slightly as she spoke.

"Wha-what's going on! Someone tell me, what is going on?!"

"I don't know." Michel half-way lied. He had a general idea, but didn't want to rile B.B up any more than necessary. He looked out the small window to his left and saw the interior of the dock. What he saw surprised him. A guard in the form of 10 Federation Balls floated alongside the escape shuttles. 'Why is the Federation here in force? Are we at war?!'

The cog wheels in his brain began turning, processing the small bits of information that he had seen and heard in passing. The colony was under attack, of that he was pretty sure. And since when did the Federation have military strength here? Sure, maybe a passing cruiser would stop and let soldiers have leave, but nothing that carried actual mobile weapons. And what about the colony? He knew from his father, who was a colony engineer, that the hull was designed to resist dramatic depressurization. But what about that gaping hole…

Michel got his answer about five seconds later, when a small alarm sounded, followed by a calm female voice.

_ The colony is currently under attack. Colony integrity has been threatened. Warning level increased to level three. Preparing escape shuttles for launch._

"What?!" one man neat the front exclaimed.

"Under attack?! But who?!!" One lady yelled. The shuttle became a buzz of frantic conversation, before the female voice made itself known again, seconds later, when a rumble ran through the escape shuttle.

_ Danger level within the colony has exceeded safety limits. Colony interior lockdown initiated. Launching of escape shuttles is now commenceing.  
_

Michel felt the shuttle jerk as the locks were disengaged, and felt a small tremor as the shuttle's engines came to life and they began accelerating, away from the colony. The guard of Federation Balls continued as they blasted away into space. When they cleared the dock, a squadron of Fly Manthas came along side them. A few people looking out the windows gasped in surprise at the time.

Michel looked back out at the window, and gasped. Side 2 had about ten gaping holes in its structure. Just outside of the holes, Michel could clearly see bodes floating lifelessly in the vacuum of space. Inside the colony, Michel could see explosions rip through the interior. Just beyond the colony, he saw what looked like Federations ships locked in intense combat with what appeared to be dark green warships. The Federation was clearly outnumbered in this situation.

A final blinding flash later, and the colony itself had become a veritable fireball before the flames began dying down, succumbing to the vacuum of space. Side 2 was no more.

Not wanting B.B. To see, he held her head to his chest as they continued to get farther and farther from the colony. His home was destroyed. What of his parents? Did they make it out? The last thought Michel had before breaking down into tears was that he had lost nearly everything.

_ END FLASHBACK_

Michel sighed lightly. A week later, after finding out that his parents had not survived the attack on Side 2, Michel made sure B.B. was all set with some relatives living in Von Braun, and joined up with the Federation, where his current adventure began.

"Yeah, look where it got you... in the middle of a hostile jungle where the Zeon aren't the only enemy around, and on the edge of court marshal... smooth move." Michel kicked another pebble and looked down from the sky to find himself at the entrance to the fields. He looked around and, spying a large rock off to the side, he went over and sat down in front of it, using the rock as a back rest. He returned his gaze back to the stars above, as another slight breeze ruffled his hair. "What did I ever do to deserve this life of mine? First my family, then B.B. leaves me, now I'm risking my life for a cause I don't even believe in anymore. I only became a soldier to fight to protect B.B. But now... ugh, I don't know what I should be doing."

"I have a list of ideas of what you could be doing." A female voice spoke from above. Michel quickly turned his head up and saw Kiki, standing on the boulder above his head. He was slightly shocked to see her there, and wondered how she was able to sneak up on him so easily. She jumped off the boulder and landed next to him. She turned and looked Michel square in the eye. "And sitting out here feeling sorry for what you did is not on that list."

"Kiki, I-" Michel found himself silenced by a stare from Kiki, and his protest died out.

"Michel, trust me, if you really did feel sorry for the path that you chose, you would have deserted right when you found out your so-called reason for fighting was gone. Am I not right?" Michel found himself unable to answer. He just stared at Kiki, stunned by what she had just said. Strangely, he found what she said to be right. He would have deserted right then and there... but he didn't. Why not? What was stopping him? "I'll take your silence as my being right. You've got friends right now! Good friends who would do anything for you, and you would do anything for them. That's why I think you are still fighting."

Michel returned his attention back to the stars again. A small wind kicked up, as clouds in the distance began to move closer. There would be a storm soon. Probably in the next few hours. Michel looked beside himself to Kiki, and found her shivering slightly, staring off in another direction. She had her arms wrapped around her knees, which were closely drawn up to her stomach. She was only wearing a pair of dark shorts and an army style t-shirt, along with a hastily slipped on pair of sandals. Her hair fell gently around her shoulders in soft, orange waves that fluttered gently with the wind. She looked so... pretty.

"Hey, are you cold?" Michel asked. Kiki turned her head toward him, removing herself from her cramped position, an air of confidence spreading over her. "Of course not! What gave you that idea?"

Michel sighed. It was just like her to act like this on occasion. She always had to be the proud leader of the guerrillas. He shook his head as he removed his jacket.

"Hey! I said I wasn't cold!" Kiki retorted.

"You know, right now, you're a very bad liar, Kiki." Michel said, as he placed his coat over Kiki's shoulders. She was going to retort, but something stopped her. Instead, she gave a small huff and settled against Michel, drawing the coat around her.

"You're right. I am cold. Thanks." Kiki said after a few seconds of silence. She turned her head to look at him as he turned to look at hers. Her blue eyes met his, and she immediately blushed at the close proximity, turning her head away. This brought back memories of the time she had first met Michel, on that mission in the desert. She had kicked him then...

"Kiki?" Kiki was startled out of her reverie by the sound of Michel's voice at her left shoulder. She glanced over at him to see his sky blue eyes gazing into her own. His eyes captivated her, and she found herself unable to pull away.

"Y-yes?" She said, sounding like prey submitting to a predator. 'Damn it, Kiki! You are making yourself sound WEAK!' She admonished herself. She hated sounding weak. And the way he was looking at her. The look was soft, comforting. Full of an emotion she had not seen in Michel's eyes since that time in the desert when he reminisced about B.B. With her. 'No way... is he thinking what I think he is?'

"Thanks." This knocked Kiki for a loop and she sweat-dropped. That was definitely not what she was expecting. As she looked back up at him, he was gazing at her curiously, waiting for her to respond.

'What was I expecting?!' Kiki wondered to herself. "Uh, what for exactly?" She asked.

"For everything you've done for me. For that time in the desert, when you helped me sort my feelings out for BB. To when you tore up BB's wedding picture. For when you showed even the slightest concern for my being injured. And for now. For helping me find out what I was fighting for, what I was fighting to protect."

This was too much for Kiki. It was too heavy. She immediately got up, throwing Michel's jacket back to him and tried jumping over the rock. But be damned her smooth bottom sandals. She slipped and fell backwards onto a startled Michel.

"Itai..." She hissed. She could feel that she had hit her knee when she fell, and it would probably bruise. But nothing else hurt. That was when she felt the breath on her face. Her eyes shot open and came eye to eye with Michel's. She wanted to pull away, but Michel had his arms around her waist, albeit it was a very loose hold so that she could get out if she wanted to. But she stopped herself. This felt so right, to be like this with him, that it scared her. To take her mind off of her slight fear, she decided to focus on the lingering question in the back of her mind.

"What... what was that thing you were fighting to protect?" She stared into his eyes, looking for a sign of the answer before he voiced it. His eyes softened at her question, and she saw that look again. That look of... love. Her shocked mind knew the answer a split second before he said it.

"You." Was all he said, before pulling her to himself in a loving embrace. It was so tender and soft, so full of feeling that it made Kiki want to cry. She didn't know how long they lay there, Kiki's face buried in Michel's shirt as he held her gingerly, a small smile gracing his features. "Kiki," he whispered in her ear, "I don't know when I started really caring for you, more than a friend, but it must have been a week or two from when we first met, when my relationship with BB was on a rocky road. But I do know that over the past few weeks, I've felt closer to you than ever before. I find it lonely when you're not around. You always know how to brighten my day and I can't imagine any day without you in it. I know that you probably don't feel the same way, and that doesn't matter to me. I just want you to know that I'll always be-" Kiki shut him up when she began to kiss him. She moved her hands up and cupped his cheeks as he deepened the kiss. Tears now flowed slowly from beneath her closed eyelids as the two spent nearly a minute, locked in the kiss.

They slowly broke apart for air, their heads moving slowly away from the other. Michel opened his eyes to see Kiki's tear-stained face, her eyes still closed. He moved his right hand up and used his thumb to wipe a fresh tear away. "I love you, Kiki."

At his touch, Kiki's eyes opened slowly, and she stared back at his soft gaze. She felt a smile creep its way on to her lips as she looked at him and he looked at her. She didn't want to ruin the moment and lay her head back down on his chest, listening to his soft breathing. He stroked her hair lightly as they lay together, the first cracks of light appearing over the mountain in the distance.

"You OK? From the fall I mean..." Michel said as softly as he could in her ear, not wanting to destroy the moment. Kiki nodded slightly.

"Yeah, I hit my knee, but it's nothing a small rub and a day of rest won't fix right up." She felt Michel shift and felt herself being turned over. Michel disentangled himself from Kiki to look at her knee. He didn't see much, though for the most part it was still dark. He lightly ran his finger across it, and put some pressure in some areas. Satisfied by the lack of groans or signs of pain from Kiki, he figured she was telling the truth and she would in fact, be OK.

Kiki watched, amused, as Michel fussed over her knee. It was cute, she decided, how he cared about her like this. Sure, she had seen that same caring from him before. It was the same caring he showed all his closest friends. His teammates mostly. But when she looked back on it all, he also showed it to her as well. In small, minuscule ways.

"It'll be light soon." Kiki said. "We better get back to bed, before anyone becomes suspicious."

"Why? Are you ashamed of us?" Michel asked, looking hurt. She almost laughed, but stopped it and contented herself with lightly slapping his arm.

"No, I'm not." Kiki said, leaning up and pecking his cheek. "It's just that I don't want anyone thinking we slept out here together. That would send the wrong signals so early in a... relationship." Michel recognized where she was coming from and instantly nodded his head.

Michel got up and held out his hand to help Kiki up into a standing position. They began walking back into the village together, hand in hand.

'Looks like everything will turn out all right after all' Michel mused as they walked together. Michel escorted Kiki back to her large hut and then left to go back to his own.

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A/N 2: Well, that's it. I suppose it could have more detailed information on the weaponry mentioned, such as model numbers, but I did this while bored in the back of class with my laptop. The new fanfic coming out in a week or two will have those, and who knows, perhaps this will occur sometime in the story? Not too sure on that yet. 

I may think about rewriting this in the near future, and improve on it if people want me to. I actually have a few extra ideas.

Damn, it's 2:30 am! Guess I had better post this and get to bed, I have class at 9 am. Later!


End file.
